Crimson Pieces
by OrdinaryChild
Summary: Fresh out of the academy, Detectives Maka and Soul are paired up immediately in order to catch an elusive mass killer known as the Crimson. Headaches and heartaches ensue. Crime!AU. May change to M.
1. Chapter 1: In which a pair is formed

Crimson Pieces: In which a pair is formed

A Soul Eater Fanfic

*I don't own Soul Eater: that honor goes to Atsushi Okubo*

* * *

If we are together, nothing is impossible. If we are divided, all will fail. –Winston Churchill

* * *

Silence. A day fades into darkness, an ominously glow from the moon. An assuring sense of peace, fear for another.

Beauty. A pale face basks in the moonlight, agony etched on her perfect, pure features.

Warmth. The floor, a pool of crimson, filled with sickly warmth. A distinct scent floats in the air.

Satisfaction. A grin stretches across his face. He examines his masterpiece with a haunting gaze.

Frenzy. His cuts carve her perfect frame, each splattering the floor, his face, his canvas. Relief emerges from each stroke.

Laughter. He can't wait. He can hear the screams of his next masterpieces, awaiting his touch.

* * *

It was a lovely morning, if you enjoy mornings filled with sunshine. Several people were up and running in Death City, with the exception of one young man. He wasn't willing to get out of his warm bed, filled with comforts that seemed to lapse into blissful sleep. With his white hair and alabaster skin, you could barely see the man, lying still in his sheets. That is, until his alarm clock rang.

"BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! Let's go sleepyhead! Time for a bright and prosperous day!"

A pale arm snaked out of the covers and smashed the clock with a fist, leaving a small dent on the clock. If the alarm clock had a nose, it would have been broken by now. You could hear the man mutter about how he should have never bought a "Happy Alarmer", even if it was on sale. The man climbed out his bed, rubbed his eyes, and waited for his eyes to focus. Then, he turned to side to examine the time on the clock.

"Oh, shit!"

The man jumped out of bed and rushed to his bathroom, avoiding the little piles of trash scattered about his room, and jumped into the shower. Inside his stall, he used what little time he had to brush his teeth, scrub his body, and rinse off. Then, he entered his room, threw on a white collared shirt, a pair of khaki pants, shoes, and some socks. Finally, he grabbed his headband, wallet, keys, and a black windbreaker as he ran out the door of his apartment.

At another location, approximately the same time, the Death City Police Department was swarming around an abandoned warehouse. Today was not an ordinary day. Some officers were taking notes, some were discussing the events in a faint murmur, and others shuffling about nervously. It was quite obvious that something was wrong. A small group of onlookers gathered around the outsides of the yellow crime tape, arranged haphazardly around a few orange cones.

During this organized chaos, a petite woman emerged from the crowded scene, elbowing through the onlookers, yet her stride was confident and proud. She wore a black work suit, not quite casual, not quite formal, and her ash blonde hair was tied back in a tight bun. Her eyes were a piercing jade, observant and ready for any challenge thrown at her. Today, it was her first day as a detective for the DCPD, and her first case involved a murder.

"Detective Albarn, I presume?"

The said women turned around and faced a tall man wearing smoking a cigarette. He had an odd appearance, vaguely resembling a mad scientist with his odd coat and wired glasses.

_He probably works in forensics. _Maka thought. She nodded curtly and extended her right hand for a handshake. The man looked at her hand and muttered something about bacteria, and tentatively shook her hand.

"Yes sir. I'm quite puzzled on my assignment here, since I'm supposed to be under the mentorship of the head detective. Has forensics analyzed the crime scene yet?" the detective inquired.

The strange man quirked an eyebrow

"That would be me, Head DCPD Detective Stein. Stein will be fine though. I dislike formalities." stated Stein.

"At the moment, the CSI team is working on examination, so we have to wait for the team to clear up," continued Stein "Also, we have another detective, who should have arrived a few minutes ago. He recently graduated from a different police academy in the lower district of Death City around the same time you graduated." Maka was confused. She thought she was the only new detective at the DCPD.

"Oh, is that so? Well, at least there's another newbie." replied Maka. Stein looked behind her and smirked. "Speak of the devil. He has arrived." Maka turned around and (almost) dropped her jaw. Her new partner walked passes the crime scene tape while flashing a badge to a fellow police man. He was almost six feet tall with tan skin, stark white hair, and ruby colored eyes. Of course, she would never admit this, but he was definitely attractive, in an exotic sort of way. The young man casually approached the two detectives, and stood next to Maka.

"Morning. Sorry I'm late." said the man. Stein simply glanced at him and took another drag on his cigarette while Maka seemed unamused by his sorry excuse. The man continued to talk "I'm Soul Evans, and I'm new to the police force. What did I miss?"

"Nothing much. I'm Stein, and that's your fellow newbie Maka. I was just about to brief Maka until you walked in." responded Stein.

"Ah, the smartass who received the highest exam score in the history of detective exams. Congrats, by the way." Soul acknowledged.

"Thanks." replied the irritated woman.

Stein handed the detectives a pair of manila folders with a few papers inside.

"So here's what we know so far. The warehouse we are at now is an abandoned butcher's chop, and hasn't been used in two years. The body was discovered by a bunch of teenagers looking for a place to romp around, if you catch my drift. The victim is female, in her late teens and her identity is yet to be known." Stein paused and stubbed his cigarette.

"What's truly unusual about this murder are the cuts on the body, which are shaped like flowers. They are connected by other vine-like patterns, and the whole thing looks like an intricate tattoo."

"Were they done postmortem?" asked Soul. The elder detective shrugged. "I haven't been inside yet. Forensics is very...picky as to when I can go inside."

Stein replied as he flung the remaining portion of his cigarette on the ground and began walking away from the crime scene.

"Sir? Where are you going?" Maka questioned.

"I forgot to mention that you two will be paired up together and left here without guidance from the senior detectives. Detective Mjölnir and I are off to a lovely work vacation in the Bahamas where there is trouble in paradise. You two are the brightest bunch of detectives to graduate from the academy in years, so Chief Death has decided to let you two to work together on this case. I wish you the best of luck!" Stein yelled back at her.

Maka and Soul stared at the senior detective for a long time as he walked to his car and drove away. They stood together and kept looking at the direction his car went. A gust of wind blew by and a strand of tumbleweed decided to roll in front of them, yet they were too confused to care.

"Uh…what just happened…"

She glanced her new coworker and sighed. She realized that they were so very screwed.

* * *

Review/Fav/Follow, please. It really motivates me, as sad as that may sound XD

(A/N This story is based in the real world, so don't expect flying cats, meisters, and gishins. Sorry, but this is an AU. So, Stein doesn't have a screw in his head, the witches are human, Lord Death wears a mask but looks like a human, etc.)

~OrdinaryChild

(A/N 2 Updated 8/29/15 in order to fix several grammatical errors.)

(A/N 3 Compiled Prologue and Chapter 1 together on 12/20/15)


	2. Chapter 2: In which the body is seen

Crimson Pieces: In which the body is seen

A Soul Eater Fanfic

*I don't own Soul Eater*

* * *

Seeing is not always believing. –Martin Luther King Jr.

The pair stood in shock for a few more moments, waiting for someone to jump out and say "Surprise! We're kidding!", or something like that.

It never came.

Eventually, the two went back to their normal composed selves and faced the reality that they were mentor-less on their first case. Both of the detectives refused to state this, being the headstrong people that they were. But really, they were screwed. Maka looked at her new partner, who was still staring wistfully at the direction where Stein's car went. They should probably get to work, starting now.

Internally sighing, Maka cleared her throat and faced her new partner, Soul. "So. Shall we enter the scene?"

The man glanced at her as a toothy smirk began to stretch across his facial features. She noticed that he had rather pointy teeth, akin to a shark's. An unusual trait, in any person. But rather than flinching, she continued to give him her usual unnerving stare.

"Ladies first." Maka felt her hand twitch uncomfortably. She wondered if she would get fired for slamming the man in the face with her folder. Deciding otherwise, she strode towards the old building where the crime had taken root as the man followed her. The entrance of the building consisted of a set of rusted double doors, which seemed to be held loosely by a pair of old hinges.

The young detective wondered what she would see in front of her, and bravely stepped through the entrance before any uncertainties sprouted in her mind. And she found herself in facing a mess, to say the least.

The first thing that hit Maka was the strong odor. The building stank of mildew and dust, a combination familiar in abandoned places. But those were merely the underlinings of the scent. The smell of blood, coppery and overwhelming, filled the air, along with of decaying flesh. Maka felt her stomach churn, and a quick glance at her partner told her that he was experiencing the same feelings as well.

Not surprisingly, there was no electricity in the building. The only light came from the cracked windows placed along the walls of butcher shop. She hoped that the forensic team would have more light on hand at night, since they were probably going to stay here til then.

"Well, it looks like a hurricane looks rolled through here after someone blew up." Soul stated.

Maka snorted. "You don't say…"

And that was the best description anyone would give. The place was a minefield; you would never know where to step before setting something or someone off. The small crowd of people Maka and Soul approached had equipment and evidence cards were scattered about, and the occasional sheet of paper flitting about on the floor. People hurried around the scene of the crime, either uniformed or in scrubs. There were people taking notes, analyzing the scene, and speaking to their coworkers or into a recording device of some sort. However, there appeared to be a small group of people that caught her interest, since they stood in the middle of the room and were huddling around something.

The first person who she saw had raven black hair, with three strange stripes on one side of his head. Perhaps it was a fashion statement, an unfortunate decision on his part, she thought. He was wearing a set of scrubs that covered his pants and shoes, and it seemed reasonable to assume that he already had his fair share of work this morning. They were covered with what seemed to be blood and other bodily fluids, and she could tell that he wasn't enjoying his morning. The man examined what appeared to be the remains of the victim with a cool gaze.

The women accompanying him were blondes. Usually Maka didn't care too much about her appearance, but she felt rather lacking in the beauty department when she saw them. If she didn't know better, she would of thought that they worked as models, with their curvy bodies, long legs, and baby blue eyes. She wondered how it was possible to look stunning in an unflattering CSI suit. It even had front pockets, of all things! The world could be so cruel at times.

She deduced that they were siblings, since they had similar facial structures. One of the blondes had light colored and choppy bob for hair, while the other was taller and had long dirty blonde hair. Based on their body language, she could tell that the trio worked together often.

The man with the striped hair looked up suddenly, seeing Maka for the first time, and frowned. Both of his eyebrows twitched as his mouth opened slightly. Maka wondered if he had to sneeze or do something of the nature.

"The left side of your jacket is 5 degrees too short and you missed a strand of hair in your bun!" the man declared.

Maka flinched at his random outburst. Soul ignored the outburst made by the man and stretched out a hand in attempts to introduce himself to the man. Again, the man twitched both of his eyebrows and in return used both hands to shake both of Soul's hands (i.e. the double handshake). In return, Soul gingerly shook the stranger's' hands with a blank expression on his face, save for the slightest twitch in a corner of his mouth.

The blonde with the longer hair sighed as the other began to shake with laughter.

"Sorry about that, Kid's OCD. " the sister with the long hair informed. "It takes a lot of time to get used to him and his obsession about symmetry." Soul dropped the man's hands and muttered something about the number of crazies in the world.

"Its…fine. I'm Detective Evans, currently assigned to this case with Detective Albarn." he stated

Soul sent a flirtatious wink to the blonde with long hair. "Pleasure." Maka and the blonde rolled their eyes. Again, the holding Maka's folder twitched.

"I return the same greeting. I'm Death, medical examiner of the DCPD. However, you call me Kid, since my father is Chief of the DCPD."

"If your dad's the chief, then why work as a squint?" Soul inquired rudely.

Kid blinked. "Sorry, I didn't catch that. A what?"

"A squint. You know, the people who squint at all the evidence and do their science and lab magic."

"Ah, you mean the forensics team." Kid shrugged. "Well, I have my reasons, and you have yours, don't you, Detective Evans?" Soul gave him a lazy grin in return.

The blondes shot Kid a glare that made him shudder. He paused and cleared his throat.

"And, uh, I apologize for my tendency to… correct everything I see. As Liz said, I'm OCD."

The long-haired blonde, Liz, muttered something under her breath. The other faced the detectives and stook out a gloved hand covered in blood.

"Patti!" she exclaimed, beaming a 1000 watt smile to the detectives. Maka waved at her, since she had no interest in touching blood without gloves this morning.

"Nice to meet you." Maka replied courteously. Soul shuddered beside Maka.

"Liz and I work as the forensic biologists and toxicologists for the team, respectively." said Patti cheerfully. "As you can see, we have collected some amaz-ing samples of the body."

The woman smiled again as she held up a plethora of vials and bags, filled to the brim with what appeared to be blood, hair, and skin tissues. Maka wondered how someone could be so enthusiastic in a rather depressing career choice. Liz, on the other hand, looked somewhat disturbed by her sister's conduct.

"Patti! Don't pick those up with your dirty gloves! You'll get blood all over the vials!" Liz rushed over and plucked the vials out of her hands. Patti have a sheepish grin.

"Sorry, Sis!" Soul cleared his throat and motioned his at what remained of the victim.

"I hate to end the intros, but we have work to do." The group turned their attention to the body, just a few feet away from where they were standing. It appeared to be decomposing at a steady rate, and a pool of blood surrounded it. Silently agreeing, they all approached the body and viewed it.

Like Stein had stated previously, the skin was cut, forming intricate patterns resembled vines. They curled around the victim's nude body, and blood seemed to have gushed out of the wounds. However, what was most disturbing was the missing head from the body. Based on what Maka saw, it appeared to be severed by some sort of blade, but with caution. The neck, a stump that remained on the body, beared no signs of a rushed job. The head seemed to have been cut with care. Maka grimaced, and looked at Kid.

"Have you figured out what happened?" she asked. Kid nodded and set a neutral expression on his face.

"Right. we'll give you the quick fact check of what we have so far. The victim was Caucasian and was in her late teens to early 20s. She had red hair, and between 5 feet 5 inches to 5 feet 8 inches. Without the head, we can't do a facial match, but we can run a DNA test back in the lab." Kid explained.

Soul frowned. "We don't have time for testing. An unknown sample will take weeks at best for a result. Check with schools and colleges for the list of missing kids. Redheads are a pretty rare find nowadays."

Kid spun around and looked at the sisters.

"Liz? Contact the Lab for digging around for a list of missing redheads. Patti? Get Tsubaki to come here ASAP for photos. We are ready for stage three."

The blondes nodded. "We're on it."

Maka wondered out loud "Stage Two?"

Kid sheepishly smiled. "I kind of gave a nickname to the stages of examination. Stage one is when the basic forensics team plus Liz, Patti and I are on the scene. Stage two is when the detectives swing by, and stage three is photography, secondary analysis, and scene preservation come in."

Soul snorted. "How old are you, five? This isn't Mission: Possible."

Kid's eyes narrowed. "Without proper treatment of the scene, we would have serious problems with the casework, Detective Evans. And for your information, I'm twenty four."

"Whatever."

Maka felt her eyebrow twitch as she slammed her folder into Soul's forehead.

"Ow! What the hell?!" Soul held his forehead in his hands.

"Now is not the time to fight, boys." She said in a stern voice, with a dark aura surrounding her rather petite figure. The men gulped and muttered a quick sorry to each other.

"We'll all be friends, correct?" asked Maka.

"Yes ma'am!" they replied hastily. She smiled and ruffled their hair as if they were toddlers, and they shrunk underneath her hands.

"Good."

* * *

The Author's Corner

Well. I found the wonderful use of the horizontal line/line break. I literally facepalmed myself upon discovering it. Also, I was going to post yesterday, but Fanfiction was being a (insert a string of cusses that will get me kicked out of Fanfiction).

Also, acknowledgments to some creepers on the WWW

TheAnimezingGamer13

MrRedDead

Mermain123

ibelyim

eyelumos207

Spiky Hope

speedslasher

roro213421

yellow331akb3

Love y'll. Reviews, favs, and follows are what get y'll on this list.


	3. Chapter 3: In which identities are found

Crimson Pieces: In which identities are found

A Soul Eater Fanfic

*I don't own Soul Eater*

"It's so much darker when a light goes out than it would have been if it had never shone."

― John Steinbeck, _The Winter of Our Discontent_

Soul sat on his desk at the DCPD, closed his eyes, and let out a large yawn. If only he had known that being a detective wasn't as glamorous as it seemed. After meeting the forensics team, he examined the area surrounding the body to search for more evidence as to what happened. Not much was found, spare for a few smudges on the window that the field analysts missed. However, they were most likely from the teenagers that were fucking themselves senseless until they saw the body. Soul then stayed until late in the afternoon, separating evidence involved in the actual crime from the tracks the kids left behind.

Eventually, he came back to his office for the second time today, the first being early in the morning. He arrived late to the station, where he was instructed to meet his superiors, only to find that his team had departed to on field duties. Fortunately, an officer happened to know where they had gone, and gave Soul an address. Soul then proceeded to get there on his motorcycle as soon as he could. Hopefully, he didn't break too many traffic regulations in order to arrive there quickly. He wondered if he could get away with them now that he was a cop.

"Ahem."

Soul groaned inwardly as he lazily opened one eye. With it, he saw Detective Albarn with the largest stack of papers he's ever seen held in her arms. It was rather comical to see, because it towered above her nose, nearly covering her eyes. Which, by the way, were the oddest shade of green he encountered. Not that he was one to talk. He had red eyes, for the love of god.

"I require some assistance in order to sort this information regarding to the case, and you don't seem to be particularly busy."

With a heavy sigh, he pushed himself off his desk and walked towards the young detective, and grabbed half the stack of papers in her arms.

"Has the body been identified yet?' he questioned.

"We found a match in terms of physical appearance, but Kid's crew hasn't confirmed it yet. The victim is most likely a Rachel Marlow. She was an art student studying at the Death City University who was reported missing five days ago."

"How old?"

"Only 18. It was her first year in college."

"That's..." Soul paused abruptly. It was always best to leave personal emotion out in his work. He cleared his throat.

"How are we going to inform her parents?" he continued.

"I suppose we should tell them in person. No one wants an email stating that their child is deceased. In addition, we should interview them for information regarding who Rachel was and what she did prior to being killed. By doing so, we can figure out why she was specifically targeted." said the female detective.

"Well okay. You can handle that tomorrow at the Marlow's home, and I'll go to the university to figure out her campus life."

She silently nodded in agreement as she set her papers on the desk that Soul had previously sat on.

"That desk happens to be mine." Soul bluntly stated. The female detective quirked up a blonde eyebrow in return and crossed her arms across her chest.

"I'm sorry, but I've been told that we're going to have to share this desk. Unfortunately, the police department is running out of room, and I've been told to move in here."

Soul wanted to curl up in a ball and cry, which was not at all similar to his cool personality. In the past hours that he'd been working with Albarn, he quickly discovered that the young detective was very dedicated to her work. Everything she did was calculated, organized, and efficient, a direct opposite to Soul's more lax exterior. In fact, it was safe to say that she was a workaholic. Despite her small stature, his partner had enough energy (or willpower), to go from task to task without the slightest break. Hell, Soul would bet his left foot that the word "break" didn't exist in her vocabulary.

Anyway, the desk. How the fuck would they split that? It wasn't exactly the most spacious object, much less shareable. Perhaps it was time for Soul to 'compromise'. In his favor, of course.

"Okay then. How will we work out our work space?" he inquired diplomatically. She gave him the most blank stare he'd ever seen, jade eyes silently asking if it was it wasn't obvious enough.

"Half and half."

Soul wanted to ask if it was okay to split it 60-40, but his gut told him otherwise. His forehead already had a rather painful bruise from this morning, after she slammed her manila folder on his head.

"Fine."

The pair then stood by their portions of the desk, and sorted their copies of notes and descriptions of the scene written by various officers and forensic experts. The only sound heard in the small office was the quiet shuffling of papers, and the occasional sigh from Soul.

They did this in what could have been five minutes, or perhaps an hour. In any case, they were soon interrupted by a quiet knock on the doorframe. Both detectives immediately looked from their work, and saw Liz. She was no longer wearing the bloodied medical scrubs, and in place wore a pair of skinny jeans and a plaid shirt.

"May I enter?"

Maka nodded as Soul waved her in. In turn, the forensic examiner stepped inside the office, with a folder in hand.

"Patti and I ran the DNA evidence from the body, and they've confirmed that it was Rachel Marlow. So, you two should probably head off tomorrow to investigate what happened prior to...this."

Soul sighed while the female detective spoke up.

"Have you managed to find the time of death, or has it not been confirmed yet?"

Soul again noted Detective Albarn's rather blunt manner of speaking. Liz, however, did not noice or chose to ignore it.

"Well, preliminary analysis shows puts the death between three to four days ago based on the rate of decomposition shown on the body, but we'll have a full analysis done by tomorrow." the woman paused and dropped the folder on the other detective's half of the desk.

"That's a copy of the DNA analysis, as well as some notes we've made from the examination of the body. Tsubaki, the photographer, also added some close up shots of the scene and the body in there."

Soul read the clock on the wall, which told him it was nearly seven, and chose that moment to take his leave. His work day was technically over at 5, but he stayed behind to sort the evidence with his partner. He cleared his throat.

"It's been nice meeting you guys, but I'll be off now. G'Night." Soul then proceeded to take his jacket, stuff some papers into his bag, and leave.

An awkward silence ensued between the two left alone. Detective Albarn began to sort her side of the desk again in silence as Liz leaned on the side of the desk.

"So, are you new around here?" Liz inquired.

"No, I'm actually a local, and have lived here for large portion of my life."

SHe then began to continue sorting her work again, until Liz grabbed the detective's arm and the woman's belongings. Maka looked at Liz confused.

"Uh, what are you doing?"

Liz raised an eyebrow and smiled.

"There aren't many women working in the police department, and those of us who do like to bond after stressful days. Dead bodies fit under that category. So, we all go to the Witch's Brew after, and you are invited."

"But I have work to do!" the detective exclaimed.

"Losen up! It'll be fun I promise. I'll even buy you your first drink."

"But...!"

"No buts! We are going!"

Liz proceeded to drag Maka out of her office. The detective found it ironic that her rights as a citizen were being abused at a police station, but chose not to comment.

...

I've been lazy, I'll admit to that. I whipped this chapter out in 3 hours of speed typing, and its 1:56 AM so hopefully it isn't horrid. I was going to add the bar scene, but I'm tired. It'll be there by Saturday probably.

So I updated some of my older chapters, and accidentally deleted one. So. I had to repost everything and I legit tore some of my (rather short) hair out. Agh.


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